Summer Box Office Surpasses 6.1 Billion Yuan
National Summer Culture & Tourism Consumption Season Issues Over 450 Million Yuan in Subsidies
Inbound Foreign Visitors Reach 22.914 Million…
In the summer of 2026, the seasonal economy is heating up,
igniting consumer vitality across the entire stationery market!

An Animated Film Sparks New Heat in Cultural & Creative Stationery Consumption

The summer movie season has always been an important window for cultural consumption, and this year, the fervour of the film market is extending upstream and downstream along the industry chain.

On July 18, the domestic animated film The Eight Immortals! was released nationwide, with its advance screenings and pre‑sales box office exceeding 100 million yuan. It scored 9.7 on Maoyan’s early‑screening ratings and 8.3 on Douban. As of July 29, the total summer box office for 2026 had surpassed 6.1 billion yuan, exceeding the same period last year.

(Image source: CCTV News)

The Eight Immortals! demonstrates a clear "pre‑positioned" approach to derivative development. Well before the film's official release, the fully licensed derivative cultural and creative products had already been rolled out across the market – covering four major categories: intangible cultural heritage (ICH), stationery, lifestyle goods, and trendy toys, with the R&D team planning over 200 SKUs. The project team adopted a cautious market‑testing strategy: the 200+ SKUs are primarily used for concept display and audience feedback collection, and based on real‑world responses, only a few dozen will be selected for full‑scale production. This model reflects the domestic film derivatives market's shift from "lagged development" to "pre‑positioned planning".

(Image: The Eight Immortals! Shu brocade cultural merchandise – Source: BAXIAN Cultural & Creative on Xiaohongshu)

Meanwhile, The Eight Immortals! is deeply integrated with traditional intangible cultural heritage crafts. The R&D team moved beyond surface‑level pattern printing, embedding the characters' physical features and costume details deeply into product designs. Traditional crafts such as Shu brocade, Shu embroidery, intangible‑heritage tie‑dyeing, and woodblock New Year prints have been infused into this national‑style animation merchandise.

Moreover, many cinemas in Chengdu, Sichuan have simultaneously created diverse scenes such as trendy toy derivatives and cultural‑creative markets. Theatres have introduced catering, baked desserts, coffee book bars, and other formats, creating "national‑trend movie cuisine," developing IP‑co‑branded merchandise, and extending the film's value chain. Some cinemas have also brought in XR immersive large‑scale spaces, allowing audiences to “step into” the movie scenes even after the show ends – bringing traditional culture into consumer scenarios in a more youthful way.

From film IP to stationery products, cultural content is endowing traditional stationery with greater emotional value. What consumers are buying is not just a notebook or a set of stationery, but also an expression of identification with a work, a culture, and their personal interests.

Integration of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Opens Up New Horizons for Stationery Consumption

(Image source: Shaoxing Publicity)

Beyond movies, study‑oriented tourism (educational travel) has continued to gain momentum since the start of summer. More and more families are incorporating cultural venues such as museums and art galleries into their travel plans.

Museums across various regions have launched innovative measures. In Jiangsu Province, over 70 museums extended their opening hours during the summer, 19 introduced night‑tour brands, and 154 premium exhibitions and 362 study‑tour activities were rolled out in succession. Sales of cultural‑creative merchandise at some venues increased by 40%‑50% during the summer. Xuanwu District in Nanjing leveraged its museums as the core and consumption as the engine, fully launching graduation‑season cultural tourism consumption activities, with nearly 500 themed events organised across scenic spots, cultural venues, and commercial districts. Shaoxing City consolidated high‑quality cultural and tourism resources across the region, planning over 80 promotional events focused on study tours, museum experiences, night tours, performing arts, and more.

(Image: A grand fish‑lantern parade performance at Shipu Ancient Town in Xiangshan.)

At the same time, sports‑driven events are also bringing new growth space for cultural and creative consumption. As the whistle of the 2026 FIFA World Cup echoed across North American stadiums, global attention was fixed on the matches. Within the officially licensed merchandise system, a uniquely Chinese cultural narrative quietly unfolded: FIFA launched the “Intangible Heritage Meets the World Cup” special project for the Greater China region for the first time, bringing together multiple cross‑regional national‑level ICH crafts including Zhuang brocade, Ru kiln ceramics, Huzhou writing brushes, and Yangcheng Qiaoshi Fahua ceramics. Led by several ICH inheritors, these projects deeply integrated millennia‑old traditional craftsmanship with tournament elements to create officially co‑branded cultural products.

(Image source: China Arts & Crafts Design and R&D Centre)

From cultural venues and urban tourism to sporting events, the integration of culture, sports, and tourism is continuously expanding the boundaries of stationery consumption – transforming stationery from a mere study tool into a consumer product that carries cultural memories and emotional expression.

"China Travel" Opens New Opportunities for Stationery Going Global

Inbound consumption is becoming a major incremental segment of summer consumption in 2026.

According to data from the National Immigration Administration, in the first half of 2026, inbound foreign visitors reached 22.914 million, a 20.4% year‑on‑year increase. Among them, visa‑free arrivals totalled 17.815 million, accounting for 77.7% of all inbound foreigners, up 30.6% year‑on‑year. Among the top 20 source countries and regions for inbound tourism this summer, European countries accounted for 30%, with orders growing by 275% year‑on‑year and ticket orders surging by more than 20 times.

"China Travel" continues to trend on global social media, and cultural‑experience consumption now accounts for over 50% of spending by inbound tourists. Foreign visitors are no longer satisfied with merely "checking in" – they are eager to immerse themselves in local life: stepping into workshops to make handicrafts alongside artisans, or browsing local markets and bargaining with vendors.

(Image source: CCTV Finance)

This inbound tourism boom is opening a new door for the stationery industry. From museum‑branded pencil cases and Chinese‑style journals, to ICH‑craft notebooks and city‑themed stationery sets, what inbound tourists take home is not just travel memories but also stationery products that carry Chinese culture – presenting unprecedented opportunities for cultural and creative stationery to go global.

(Image source: Yicai)

From animated‑film merchandise and the rising popularity of museum cultural products, to the "reverse cross‑border shopping" by inbound tourists – the three major consumption engines of the 2026 summer economy are opening brand‑new growth channels for the stationery industry.

The functional attributes of traditional stationery are being redefined: a pen can be an "extra chapter" of a movie, a journal can be a "mobile exhibition hall" of a museum, and a stationery set can be an "emotional landmark" of a journey through China. As consumer demand shifts from "buying a product" to "experiencing culture and expressing emotions", the stationery industry is facing not just a simple product upgrade, but a transformative opportunity – moving from "manufacturing tools" to "creating content."

Looking ahead, as consumer demand continues to evolve, we look forward to the stationery industry's ongoing exploration of design innovation, cultural integration, and scenario expansion, creating even more new consumption spaces on the foundation of its traditional strengths.

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